The Busan International Film Festival in South Korea awarded Japanese actress Hana Sugisaki with its Face of Asia award for her performance as the main character Mary in Studio Ponoc and Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s Mary and The Witch’s Flower anime film.
Mary and The Witch’s Flower opened in Japan on July 8 and has earned 3 billion yen (US$28 million).
The film had its debut screening in South Korea on Friday during the film festival.
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who directed Studio Ghibli’s Arrietty and When Marnie Was There, directed Mary and The Witch’s Flower, and also penned the script for the film alongside Riko Sakaguchi, who wrote the screenplay for Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguya film.